Snacks

Name: Cheesy Taco Sprouted Pretzels - THM E
Yield: 4 People
Ingredients: 12 Unique Sprouted Pretzel Twists (Splits); 1/2 tsp Chili Powder; 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika; 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder; 3/4 tsp Salt; 2 tsp Nutritional Yeast; Olive Oil Spray

Party Foods for Trim Healthy Mama

October 29, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Whether you need something to take to a potluck or a football tailgate, these party foods for Trim Healthy Mama will be enjoyed by your THM & non-THM friends and family.

We just had my son’s birthday party this past week and I wanted to have some on plan appetizers to go with the pizza and cake that he requested.

I have some goals that I am trying to hit & didn’t want to go off plan, even for a birthday. But that doesn’t mean that I wanted to fell deprived during the event and because of THM I didn’t have to!

This post on party food for Trim Healthy Mama is letter “P” of our Trim Healthy Mama A to Z series. You can find everything you need to know about THM from A to Z by clicking here.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Party Foods for Trim Healthy Mama

I know we have all been in this boat. We need to go to a party and take an appetizer but what can you bring to stay on plan and that will please all guests? A lot!

All of these are things that I have served to non-THM followers and they are eaten up and enjoyed! So you can feel confident that pretty much anyone can enjoy these snack ideas and you can stay on plan and meet your goals.

Most of these starters can be eaten on other low carb and Keto diets as well.

THM Appetizers to Serve At Your Gathering

Deviled Eggs – I don’t really use a recipe. Just enough mayo to get the egg yolks creamy and a dash of paprika.
Charcuterie Trays – Meats, cheeses, nuts and fruits are always a hit. The link has E & S board ideas
Chicken Salad – For this one I added some diced jicama, sliced almonds and Dukes mayo. Serve with celery, make Joseph’s Lavash crackers or you can throw in an off plan roll of some sort if you want for the Non-THMers.
Everything But the Bagel Goat Cheese Log – a 2 minute recipe
Pimento Cheese – This is one of my faves. So easy and tastes so rich. All I do is shredded cheddar, enough Dukes mayo to make it creamy and some drained pimento, salt & pepper.
Rotel Dip Stuffed Mushrooms – You won’t need the chips when you stuff your mushrooms with the dip.
Cocktail Sausages – To make these you need just three ingredients: 2 packages cocktail sausages, Simply Fruit Grape and Dijon mustard. Add the sausages and jar of Simply Fruit to a small crockpot. Then fill the empty jelly jar 1/2 way with Dijon mustard and add that to the crockpot. Cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Sandwich Rollups – Using a low carb wrap, add deli meat, cheese, romaine, mayo and mustard. Roll up and slice using a sharp knife.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Stuffed Mushrooms – these are one of our favorites!

Chili Dip – Spread one block of cream cheese in an 8×8 dish, add a layer of on plan “S” chili (great if you have some made up in the freezer) and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until warm and starting to bubble up. Serve with Pork Rinds.
Buffalo Chicken Dip – 2 cans of chicken (drained), 2 packs of softened cream cheese, 1 cup ranch, 1 cup wing sauce, 2 cups shredded cheese. Bake it at 350 for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve with pork rinds.

Need more easy apps? Check out this huge list of low carb / THM S dips that you can eat with pork rinds.

THM Charcuterie Board for S & E Meals

October 8, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Find ideas to make a THM charcuterie board for S & E meals for your next party, holiday gathering or just a simple snacky lunch.

My favorite part of any party is the appetizers by far. In fact, I love meals that are “snacky.” If you share the same sentiment, you probably love charcuterie boards as well. It’s like a grown up Lunchable & who wouldn’t love that?!

Making an on plan THM charcuterie board for S & E meals is easy and fun. You can create these boards on a large scale as an appetizer for a get together or create a mini charcuterie board for a weekday lunch! They are so easy to make.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

THM Charcuterie Board for S & E Meals

Charcuterie boards often consist of meats, cheeses, crackers, nuts, fruits and jams. It is simple to create an on plan version depending on the THM Fuel that you are going for.

Here are a variety of THM on plan snacks that you can include on your platter.

More THM On Plan Appetizers:

Sausage Rotel Stuffed Mushrooms

Easy Everything But the Bagel Goat Cheese Log

Chicken Bacon Ranch Stuffed Mushrooms

Pigs N a Joseph’s Blanket

THM S Charcuterie Board Ideas

*Ignore the carrots on this plate – they were for the kids!

Here are some ideas for S charcuterie plates:

Ranch Dip
Cheese
Smoked Meats (Pepperoni, Salami, Jerky, Summer Sausage)
Whisps
Nuts
Dark Chocolate
Boiled Eggs
Pickle, Cream cheese and Ham roll ups
Pork Rinds
Homemade Pimento Cheese

THM E Charcuterie Board Ideas

Baked Tostitos
Salsa
Bean Dip
Crunchmaster Crackers
Light Laughing Cow Cheese
Sliced Apples
Low Fat Greek Yogurt with Peanut Flour & Caramel Sweet Drops (Apple Dip)
Grapes
Clementines
Lean Turkey Deli Meat
Baby Carrots
Skinny Pop
Wasa Sourdough or Multigrain
Cheesy Taco Sprouted Pretzels

THM FP Charcuterie Board Ideas

These items can be made into a snack plate by themselves or you can add them to either an S or an E plate.

Broccoli
Celery
Mini Bell Peppers
Oh Snap Pickles
Pickled Okra
Grape Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Jicama Sticks
Fresh Berries
1% Cottage Cheese
Wasa Light Rye or Wasa Fiber and Flax Seed

The thing I love about these boards is that you can make them as fancy or as simple as you want. I make a mini charcuterie board often for lunch. You don’t have to lay it out in a complicated manner. In fact, a bunch of zip lock bags or a divided container will help you take your snack lunch on the go.

Here are some S & E snack plates that I have made recently to give you some ideas.

S Plates:

And here is a snack plate ready for the car or ball field. Here are the containers I use.

E Plates:

E snack for the office

Helpful THM Resources:

Trim Healthy Mama A to Z

THM Food Analyzer App – Know your Fuel

THM On the Go – Snacks & Light Meals for Road Trips and Office Snacks

Join the Protecting Your THM Pennies Facebook group for on plan sales & coupons.

Cheesy Taco Sprouted Pretzels – THM E

August 31, 2020 by Stacy Craft 1 Comment

These cheesy taco sprouted pretzels are a healthy snack for Trim Healthy Mama’s in an E setting.

I have been following the Trim Healthy Mama plan on and off since 2016. All that time, I had always wanted to try the on plan sprouted pretzels but never gotten around to it in the last 4 years.

A few weeks ago I put the pretzel twists and the shells in my Amazon cart and pulled the trigger right before we went on our beach trip. I was hoping to include them in my THM beach vacation meal plan.

But I got them, tried them and didn’t love them. Not bad but nothing amazing (full disclosure, I’m not a big pretzel lover anyway so that could be the problem). Pretzels just always seem a bit plain to me, sprouted or not.

But I do love them seasoned up with a bunch of flavor! In this Trim Healthy Mama E recipe, taco seasonings and nutritional yeast are combined to create a batch of cheesy taco sprouted pretzels.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Cheesy Taco Sprouted Pretzels – THM E

The taco seasoning is combined with nutritional yeast to give the pretzels their cheesy flavor. Plus you get all the nutritional benefits of the nutritional yeast added in to your pretzel snack.

To make these cheesy taco sprouted pretzels you need just a few staples from your THM pantry and 30 minutes.

What You Need for Seasoned Sprouted Pretzels

Unique Sprouted Pretzel Twists
Chili Powder
Smoked Paprika
Garlic Powder
Salt
Nutritional Yeast
Olive Oil Spray (My Misto is one of my fave kitchen tools)

Seasoning the Spouted Pretzels

Mix all the seasoning in a gallon zip bag. Place the pretzels in the bag, spray with olive oil spray and zip the bag. Shake, shake, shake!

Open the bag and spray the pretzels again and shake until all or most of the seasoning has coated the pretzels.

Baking the Taco Pretzels

Spread the pretzels in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Bake at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Flip each pretzel and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Carefully remove the pretzels from the sheet and allow them to cool completely.

Serving Size

The serving size on the pretzel bag is 3 pretzels so that is what I would stick to with this Trim Healthy Mama recipe.

You would still have a few “leftover” carbs before you hit the max carbs for an E meal if you wanted to add something to it (or even an extra pretzel).

Now, if you have never bought these before you are probably losing it over the serving size being three measly pretzels. But these pretzels are big! Like the size of the palm of my hand. So it won’t be a tiny serving.

Pair your cheesy taco sprouted pretzels with a lean protein like some turkey deli meat for an extra boost of protein to round out the meal/snack.

Try these easy Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Almonds – THM S.

Cheesy Taco Sprouted Pretzels - THM E

Servings

People

Ingredients

12 Unique Sprouted Pretzel Twists (Splits)
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Nutritional Yeast
Olive Oil Spray

Servings

People

Ingredients

12 Unique Sprouted Pretzel Twists (Splits)
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Nutritional Yeast
Olive Oil Spray

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
Combine the seasonings in a gallon zip bag & add in the pretzels.
Spray the pretzels with the olive oil spray and seal the bag.
Shake until all of the seasoning has coated the pretzels. You may need to open the bag & spray with olive oil once more.
Spread the sprouted pretzels onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Do not overlap.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Flip the pretzels and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Allow the pretzels to fully cool. Store in an airtight container.

Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Stuffed Mushrooms

August 16, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Chicken, bacon and ranch make everything better, right? These Keto chicken bacon ranch stuffed mushrooms make great appetizers or even a nice side dish for your meal.

I think the first time I ever heard of the chicken bacon ranch combo was when Subway came out with their sandwich years ago. And I’ve been hooked ever since.

Mix up a bowl of crack chicken and you can put it in anything. We love it in low carb quesadillas, in chicken puffs, or even just piled high on a salad. So why not stuffed in a yummy mushroom?

Yes, add that to my Trim Healthy Mama S plate!

These mushrooms are loaded with creamy cheese, bacon, rotisserie chicken and ranch to make these the perfect low carb appetizer for your next party. Well, are parties still a thing since COVID? Who am I kidding – you can make these for yourself and sit at home socially distanced BUT at least you will have good food!

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Stuffed Mushrooms

You are seriously going to love these. I made them one night to go with some chicken quarters that my husband smoked on the grill. And then I made them again the next day.

And mid-week, I made them again and we just ate a big plate of stuffed mushrooms for dinner. They were that good.

Do you like appetizers for dinner? I swear the starters are usually my favorite part of the whole meal.

Ingredients for Low Carb Crack Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms

If you have read many of my Keto/Trim Healthy Mama recipes, you know I like to get help from the grocery store when I can to make life a little easier. And these baked stuffed mushrooms are no exception, getting their start with a rotisserie chicken.

Here is what you need to grab from the store or your fridge and pantry.

Rotisserie Chicken
Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I buy generic EVERYTHING but Philadelphia really is better)
Bacon (either cooked/crumbled bacon or real bacon bits)
Ranch Dressing – This is my favorite. You could make your own also.
Shredded Cheese
White Mushrooms or Portabella (baby bella) Mushrooms

How To Bake Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms With Cream Cheese

These bacon cream cheese stuffed mushrooms are easy to mix up and bake for a tasty low carb starter.

Start buy washing the mushrooms with water and removing the stems. You won’t use the stems in this recipe but frugal Trim Healthy Mama’s don’t throw them out! Try the sister’s ground beef mushroom hack to stretch your grocery budget!

I set mushroom caps on a paper towel to absorb any extra water while I move on to the next step.

Then combine the shredded rotisserie chicken, room temp cream cheese, bacon bits, ranch and shredded cheese in a medium bowl. Mix it all together until well incorporated.

Using a teaspoon, fill each mushroom until full but not overflowing with filling.

I like to use a Broiler Pan to cook these because it lets any excess moisture from the mushrooms drain away – avoiding a mushy mushroom.

Place your crack chicken stuffed mushrooms on the broiler pan and bake until the cheese is melted and warm in your 400 degree preheated oven, about 18-20 minutes.

Yum!

Looking for more Keto – THM S – Low Carb Stuffed Mushrooms? Try these Sausage Rotel Cheese Dip Stuffed Mushrooms.

Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Baked Stuffed Mushrooms - THM S

Servings

People

Ingredients

1 cooked shredded chicken breast (Can use Rotisserie)
8 oz Cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
6 oz real bacon bits
2 tbsp ranch dressing
2 pkg White Mushrooms or Baby Bella

Servings

People

Ingredients

1 cooked shredded chicken breast (Can use Rotisserie)
8 oz Cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
6 oz real bacon bits
2 tbsp ranch dressing
2 pkg White Mushrooms or Baby Bella

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Remove stems from the mushrooms and set aside or discard (THM followers - slice them up and brown them with ground beef for another recipe). Wash and dry the mushroom caps.
Combine the cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon, chicken and ranch dressing in a medium bowl and mix together well.
Using a teaspoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of filling.
Place the filled mushrooms on a lightly greased broiler pan.
Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Everything Bagel Goat Cheese Log

July 6, 2019 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

A two minute appetizer, this everything bagel goat cheese log is low carb and will be loved by everyone at your next event.

In order to keep my family from the fast food lines on busy nights, I have several last minute, incredibly easy dinner recipes that I keep on hand. I am talking stupid simple like 10 minute black bean tacos, 15 minute white beans and ham and 2 minute microwave egg scrambles.

Having those simple meals on speed dial helps me to stay on track with our budget goals and our health initiatives. And just like these easy suppers, I love having a few tried and true, easy peasy appetizers that I can throw together in no time.

A couple of minimal prep appetizers in your arsenal are great for last minute, drop in guests. I also like having a few really easy hors d’oeuvres that I can prepare as part of a larger party spread. If you are making 5 or 6 appetizers for a big party, it is nice to have one or two that you don’t have to do much work on to make the big day easier.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Everything Bagel Goat Cheese Log

This recipe is so simple, it might not even take you a full two minutes to prepare. It has been served at several events that I have hosted and it always gets eaten and people ask for the recipe.

Ya’ll know that I love creating food that doesn’t even deserve to be called a recipe because it is that easy (Hello Keto Creamsicle Drink)! And this Everything Bagel Goat Cheese log falls right into that category. But that doesn’t make it any less delicious!

What You Need:

To make the everything bagel goat cheese log appetizer, you only need two items. So that makes this app easy and pretty cheap! I got both items at Aldi!

Plain Goat Cheese Log
Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

Making the Appetizer

Preparing the everything bagel goat cheese log is so easy that a kid could do it! If you can’t cook or don’t have time, add this to your list. If you love goat cheese, add it to your must make list!

Here are the easy instructions to make this recipe:

Pour a few tablespoons of the seasoning onto a plate.
Roll the goat cheese log into the seasoning.
You may need to use your hands to help press the seasoning into the log. Continue to roll and press until the entire goat cheese log is well covered, adding more seasoning if needed.

That is it. You are done and have a great everything bagel goat cheese log to share at your next get together.

How To Serve

You can serve the creamy everything bagel goat cheese log in several different ways. I love how versatile it is and that you can accommodate many different diets and tastes with just one starter.

Low Carb/Keto/THM S

I follow an eating plan called Trim Healthy Mama which essentially rotates low carb/keto meals and healthy carb meals. If you follow THM this is an “S” recipe.

To cater to your Keto or Trim Healthy friends, serve this goat cheese appetizer with celery sticks.

It is also really good with homemade lavash chips.

Standard Offering

If you want to offer an option to your friends that don’t follow a low carb lifestyle, Stacy’s Simply Naked Bagel Chips are amazing. Just make sure you get the plain variety. Anything else will be overpowering because of all the flavor that is in the Everything But the Bagel Seasoning.

What are your favorite virtually no prep appetizers?